Close Fairytale
by LaPaige
Summary: When Caitlyn can't take her mom setting up her dates any longer she runs away, and there is only one person who can find her. Naitlyn!


**Hey guys! This is again another Naitlyn (I'll probably stop writing as many of them after this, promise!), and I'm quite happy with how it turned out! Enjoy!**

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Caitlyn Geller was not happy. Then again, when she was at home she rarely was. Her mother was unbearable and her father was hardly ever home.

At this present moment in time Caitlyn was sitting at the dinner table. She glanced at her father's empty place, as usual, and sighed. She'd expected it, but somewhere in the back of her mind she'd hoped that just once he could make it home to have dinner with them.

"So, I met this woman in the corner shop today, very nice lady, and she told me she had a son, about your age…"

Here we go again. It was part of the daily routine for Caitlyn. Wake up, get dressed, eat breakfast, brush teeth, listen to her mom trying to set her up with some random guy and so on.

Ever since she'd turned fourteen, two years ago, her mother had constantly been trying to set her up with random guys who had nothing in common with her. Caitlyn had expected this sort of thing from a friend, to set her up with people she'd hate so they could laugh about it later, but not from her own mother. It was horrible, and Caitlyn had tried to tell her over and over again that she wanted nothing to do with the guys that her mom thought were a good choice – she could pick who to go out with perfectly fine herself, but her mom wouldn't listen to her.

Caitlyn tried not to listen as her mom droned on, she just rolled the peas and sweetcorn round her fork half-heartedly. She would give anything to be anyone else right now.

"And he goes to a school near you – Brookfield, have you heard of it?"

Yes, she had, but she wasn't about to say that. Not that her mom could care less where the boy come from – all he had to be was a good student with nice parents and there, he was perfect.

"It's time you dated, Caity, honey. It's been so long since you've had something to look forward to except that darn Camp. There's more to life."

Wrong. There was nothing at all more important to Caitlyn then Camp Rock and her producing. Not that her mother knew. Her daughter could be a smoking alcoholic and she wouldn't know. She'd be to busy finding the next guy to set her up with.

"His name is Oliver, and I invited them both round for tea tomorrow, isn't that great?" Caitlyn's head snapped up at this, anger flashing in her eyes. Enough was enough.  
"No, mom. It isn't great."

Her mom didn't even pause. She just rolled her eyes overdramatically.  
"Oh, darling, of course it's great. You can't go around mopping all your life without a boyfriend!"  
"Mom, I'm sixteen years old. I can pick my own boyfriends just fine _without_ your help!"  
"I'm just offering advice and helping you out, Caity."  
"I don't care! I don't want you to help me, or offer advice. I'm just fine without you!"  
"Don't get all angry at me, sweetie."  
"Don't call me that." Caitlyn responded, glaring at her mother across the table. She'd put up with this for two years, and now she'd finally cracked.

"If you could just try this one boy…" Her mom tried again, but to no avail. Caitlyn simply grew angrier.  
"NO! You think that this Oswald boy will sweep me off my feet and I'll be married in a few years with three children and live happily ever after? Well I've got news for you, mom. Life isn't a fairytale. I learnt that from the best."

And with that Caitlyn pushed her plate away, rose from her chair and stormed out of the house. She ignored her mother's cries of protest. She would come after her anyway. Her mom couldn't care less what she did – she probably had the nerve to think that on her way outside she'd bump into a boy and it would be love at first sight right on the doorstep.

Caitlyn didn't start running until it started to rain. As soon as the first few drops hit her she started to run in the wrong direction. She didn't run towards her home for shelter, she ran away from it. The further she got from her home the better she felt. It didn't matter that she was soaked to the skin, or that the rain was getting heavier with every step. All that mattered was she got away from everything she'd ever know – her house, her mom and her life.

She was in some warped world where she was no longer Caitlyn Geller, but another girl, one that people liked and looked up to, one that people respected and didn't dare try and set up with guys who weren't her type. Her name could be Cathy James or Candice Gates, anything as long as it wasn't a reflection of her past life.

She stopped running soon, coming to a halt at a bench she didn't recognise. It was getting dark, and as she collapsed onto the soggy wood exhaustion and hunger washed over her. She didn't want to go home, yet she knew in her mind that she couldn't stay here. Being a teenage runaway was never what she'd planned to be, let alone go through with.

The wetness of the bench hardly made a difference to her, she was already too soaked to notice, and as she shivered with the cold she had frightening images of murderers and robbers that prowled the street at night. She had no idea where she was, or what turnings she'd made.

She was alone, tired, cold, wet and hungry. And there wasn't much she could do about it. She couldn't say she was surprised at her reaction – it was always going to happen. For two years she'd sat back and let her mom have her way – she'd gone on hundreds of unsuccessful dates (or maybe torture was the more appropriate word), all of which had ended with the same thing – hurt and rejection.

As Caitlyn sat there, staring ahead with a blank expression on her face, she felt the tears prick in her eyes. She didn't move to wipe them away, just stayed motionless, almost as if she was frozen. She remembered the dates her mother had set her up on, how not one had even been remotely promising.

The first one she'd ever agreed on was with a boy named Nathan. She'd been fourteen, and her mother had been worried that she hadn't had one boyfriend yet. Normally mothers would rejoice at this information – but not Caitlyn's mother.

"Have a good time with Nathan honey!" Caitlyn's mother called to her fourteen year old daughter. Caitlyn was dressed in a denim skirt and baby pink shirt. Her hair had been straightened, and she looked nothing like the natural Caitlyn that everybody knew.

"I will. I'll be home in a few hours." Caitlyn replied with a fake smile plastered on her face. She hated this, but she didn't want to tell her mom. She truly believed that her mom thought she was helping – how oblivious she was.

As soon as she stepped out the door (she was walking to meet Nathan at the movies), the smile slipped from her face. Her back was turned on her mom as she walked away, her face one of annoyance and boredom. She didn't want to do this. She could choose who she wanted to go out with – and she would pick someone who liked her for her. She hated this skirt, her hair felt horrible straightened, and the make-up on her face itched. She couldn't wait to change out of her clothes and wash all of it off.

And, what was even worse, Nathan was a total jerk.

With date after date that her mom set up, she had to wear the make-up, straighten her hair and wear the hideous clothes her mom picked out for her. She tried to say no, to politely refuse to go on the dates, but her mom wouldn't listen. The frustration had been building up inside her, and today she'd finally snapped.

The tears were coming faster with every memory until Caitlyn had totally broken down. Her body shook with silent sobs as she wished for so many things. A different life, a different mother, a different attitude, a boyfriend that would like her for her, not the Barbie doll her mom sculpted out of her. She wished for all these things that would never come true.

Wishes were pointless. They were like the fairytale her mom hoped for – they didn't come true, and of all the people in the world Caitlyn was the last person deserving of either. Caitlyn hadn't cried in a long time, and it felt like some sort of release. Some people cut themselves, some people took drugs, some people screamed and yelled, but Caitlyn just hoped.

"Caitlyn?"

She didn't look up. She just continued to sob silently, the tears falling fast onto her lap. She didn't want to confront the person in front of her – explain to them why she was crying. Crying, in Caitlyn's mind, was a weakness. And her breakdown just proved that she was like the majority of the other girls she knew - weak.

"What's wrong? Why are you outside so late?"

The voice was a male one, and in Caitlyn's state she couldn't think clearly, so she could not decipher who the voice belonged to. She hoped it wasn't one of the ridiculous guys her mom had tried to set her up with – that would just remind her of more things, causing more tears, more weakness.

"Caitlyn, please talk to me."

She heard the hurt in the person's voice, and slowly she looked up. She must look horrible, but that was the last thing on her mind. There, standing in front of her was Nate Gray. Her best friend. She tried to smile to assure him, but failed. She moved over an inch to make enough room for him to sit down, which he did.

They sat in silence, during which Nate gently put his arm around Caitlyn's, and Caitlyn rested her head on his shoulder. It took a while, but finally her tears stopped and her breathing slowed. Nate didn't want to ask her what was wrong in case it hurt her even more, so he waited. He knew she would tell him when she was ready. Nate wasn't stupid – he knew that all he could do for her was to be there for her until she confessed.

Caitlyn, on the other hand, already knew she was going to tell Nate why she'd been crying. She didn't want it to eat away at him, like she knew it would. The only reason for her silence was that she was planning out what she was going to say.

"My mom tried to set me up with another guy again." She mumbled, half hoping he wouldn't hear her.  
Nate knew all about her mothers set-ups. Sometimes both of them laughed about it, but mostly Caitlyn liked to avoid that certain topic of conversation.

"Is that why you were crying?" Nate questioned.  
"Yes and no." Caitlyn replied.

She paused for a second before explaining. She told him everything, and by the time she'd finished the tears had started again. Nate didn't remark on her story, and for that she was grateful, although she didn't say it.

"I'm sorry for loading all this onto you." She whimpered.  
"I've never seen you like this before, and I was starting to think you weren't a normal human because of your lack of tears." Was his response.  
"And you aren't loading anything on to me. If I was Shane I'd have run half a mile at the sight of tears." He added with a small smile.

Caitlyn laughed through her tears, mostly because he was right – Shane would run away from crying girls if he could help it. She didn't know what she'd done to deserve someone like Nate, but she was so thankful that she couldn't explain it. He'd been there for her all these years, and although she didn't want to admit it, he'd had to be with her through a lot, and he'd helped her tremendously. She knew he didn't mind, but it still made her feel guilty. He hardly ever asked her for help on his own problems – not because he didn't want to, but because, in all honesty, he didn't have any.

"Thank you, Nate." She whispered, wiping the excess tears from her eyes.  
"No problem, it's what I'm here for, right?"  
"To sit though my rants and tears on my stupid mother setting me up with every guy on the planet?" She replied, smiling softly at him.

She lifted her head off his shoulder, turning to face him. It was at that moment that she laughed at the sudden irony of it all.  
"What's so funny?" Nate questioned, and she replied almost immediately without hesitation, a reminded of the pre-breakdown Caitlyn that was slowly returning.  
"It's just that my mom managed to set me up with hundreds of guys with the exception of the one I actually really liked."

Nate frowned then, and his expression was enough for Caitlyn to continue.  
"Well, his name begins with an 'N'…" She teased, and realisation formed quickly onto her best friend's face.  
"Hmm … Nathan? Noddy?" He played along, a smile on his face.  
"Not quite. He has two brothers, both of them are older."  
"No, still not getting it." Nate said, the smile on his face proving that he did.

"Okay, one last clue. He has crazy hair."  
"Hey! I resent that! I do not have crazy hair! It's just … a little different."  
"Oh, just shut up and kiss me."

And Nate was happy to oblige.

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**Well, I hope you all liked it! Thanks so much for reading! Please review! **

**Paige (:**


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